Artwork
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is an oil painting by Piet Mondrian. It dates from 1939 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
The yellow, red, and blue rectangles and squares are placed in a way that creates a sense of balance and harmony.
You are looking at a painting called Trafalgar Square. It's made of oil paint and was created by Piet Mondrian in 1939. The painting is divided into rectangles and squares by thick black lines.
The rectangles and squares are different sizes and are arranged in a grid pattern. Some of the rectangles and squares are colored yellow, red, or blue. The rest are white. The painting has a calm and organized feel to it.
One interesting thing about this painting is the way the colors are used. The yellow, red, and blue rectangles and squares are placed in a way that creates a sense of balance and harmony. The white rectangles and squares help to create a sense of space and depth.
If you want to learn more about this style of painting, you might want to check out the work of Piet Mondrian.
Overview
Piet Mondrian’s 1939 oil painting titled Trafalgar Square exemplifies his mature abstract language. The canvas is organized into a network of rectangles and squares delineated by thick black lines, with a limited palette of primary colors, red, blue, yellow, set against white fields. The composition conveys a measured, orderly atmosphere through its balanced distribution of form and hue.
Subject & Meaning
Although the title references a famous London landmark, the work does not depict recognizable architecture. Instead, Mondrian translates the idea of a public square into a visual system of intersecting planes, suggesting spatial order and communal harmony through the interplay of colored and neutral zones.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, the painting employs Mondrian’s signature neoplastic approach: precise, straight black outlines separate flat color blocks, while the absence of shading maintains a purely two‑dimensional effect. The primary colors are applied in uniform, unmodulated swaths, reinforcing the rational, geometric aesthetic that defines his later abstract period.
History & Provenance
Created on the eve of World War II, Trafalgar Square entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains on view. Its acquisition reflects MoMA’s commitment to documenting the development of abstract art and Mondrian’s pivotal role in shaping 20th‑century visual language.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (Dutch:; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, US also; Dutch: ), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician, who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
